Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori is one of the most talented players in that left back and center back hybrid role in European football, but the Gunners faithful are going to start having some difficult conversations about his long term value soon.
Since joining Arsenal from Bologna, Calafiori has been as advertised in terms of his technical quality on the ball as a passer and progressor with his ball carrying, though his defensive work has recently been overshadowed by another new addition to the team this summer, Piero Hincapie.
The Ecuadorian international has seemingly usurped Calafiori as the preferred option for Arsenal. Calafiori just returned from an injury, but it was not until Mansfield Town in the FA Cup that he actually started a game, with Hincapie ostensibly Wally Pipping him with some sensational defensive displays – and arguably more robust strength and athleticism on the ball.
Calafiori’s biggest problem is that he is not consistently available enough to be trusted. Arsenal fans are coming to the realization with Hincapie that having a guy like that who can play every week, defend at an elite level, and do enough offensively is the right call.
In his starting against Mansfield, Calafiori was honestly pretty poor. You would have expected more progressive passes from a player going up against a low level team, and while Calafiori showed superior dribbling quality on the ball to Hincapie, even defensively against this Mansfield lot, it was clear that he was overall a step below Hincapie.
Arsenal fans are realizing that for the long term value of the squad, Hincapie is the better option – not least of all because they know Hincapie is going to be logging more minutes each week to build chemistry.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.